Quick update, four chapters to go after this one and the good news is I'm 95% done with writing them. Just some editing left to go. It has been one hell of a journey and yes there are plans to do a third story in the trilogy eventually. In the meantime, I'm brimming with other Doctor/Rose stories.
Big thanks to everyone for the follows, favorites, reviews and encouragement. Especially to lastincurableromantic for being my beta, my shoulder to cry on and letting me vent at her. Now, onto the story.
River had stayed with them for a week after Demon's Run. Thankfully she had convinced Amy to let the Doctor and Tony run a full body scan on her. Kovarian and her gang had done serious damage to Amy during her captivity. Luckily, the internal injuries had been found in time for them to be fixed.
River had sat by Amy's bed while she recovered. It became apparent that she was very protective of her mother. Maybe it because River knew that living their lives in reverse she would lose Amy first.
When it came time for her to leave, Rory felt a myriad of emotions. Partially it was a relief, but it was also very difficult to see her go. He was happy, distraught and resigned all at once. It was all just too much to take. In the past few weeks Rory had learned that Amy and his daughter had been kidnapped, they'd rescued Amy but still lost Melody. And then the kicker was learning River Song's true identity.
And of course since River lived her life in reverse from them, there was very little she could tell them. Oh, she left them evasive hints like she always did... Everything will work out the way it should. Or things are going to get worse before they get better.
Before she left, she had hugged them and basked in her family's love, because for her, it could be the last time she saw them and they knew who she was. It was one of the hardest goodbyes Rory had ever said.
It was night, well, in relative terms since they were currently spinning through the Vortex. Amy was sleeping. Rory was sitting in an armchair in the Library, Rose and the Doctor were curled up on the sofa. Rory knew his mum had been trying to get him away from everyone else in order to grill him on how he was feeling. He'd been avoiding that situation rather well until now. He couldn't run away from her forever and just maybe he needed to talk about it.
"How long have you known?" the Doctor asked, breaking the silence.
"That River was my daughter?" Rory scrubbed a hand down his face. "Since I was fifteen."
"That long? Really?" His mum looked stunned.
"Yeah, well, I'd figured out pretty early that she was a Time Lady. Always thought that she was your daughter." He waved a hand between the Doctor and his mum. The Doctor blushed slightly.
Rory continued. "Then when I confronted her about it, she told me that she wasn't your daughter. Which left only three real possibilities. One, she was Dad's daughter. Not really an option since he couldn't have children with Mum, and I couldn't see that happening.
"Two, she was just the Doctor's daughter. Again, without Mum, I didn't see that happening. I didn't know Jenny was still alive so I assumed that she must be mine, daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter maybe. But still mine. I couldn't figure out why she would be crossing timelines, but she begged me not to question it. I promised her I would keep her secrets."
"Oh, love, I'm sorry." Rose came over and wrapped him in a hug. "That's a huge burden to keep all this time."
"It's like Dad always said, it comes with being a Time Lord." Rory let tears fall down his face. "I couldn't protect them. They took my wife, and they still have my daughter. And the woman that she becomes is amazing, but somewhere out there is my baby girl. And then there's the Library. She died. She was just born, and I know where and when she's going to die."
"Rory," Rose said, rubbing his back. "We'll find a way. I promise."
"And Amy knows about the Library. How can I face my wife knowing I can't guarantee our daughter's safety?"
"You've been working on a solution for years, love. I know you must have worked out some way," Rose said softly. The Doctor looked like he wanted to object, to say that he'd already tried to think of ways to save River, that it was a fixed point in time. But he couldn't bring himself to stomp out that last bit of hope.
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I think I have it figured out, but it may cost us our TARDIS and how could I choose between her and River? But that's not even the biggest problem right now, is it?"
"No," the Doctor agreed. "We need to try to find baby Melody."
"Where would they have her, though?" Rose asked.
"It's simple enough to figure out, isn't it?" Rory bit back another sob. "The Silence wanted a child of the Bad Wolf, and in 1969 they had a little girl in that orphanage. The girl in the spacesuit is Melody."
"No," Rose cried, shaking her head. "That little girl looked like she was six years old. Can't we fix this? I mean, we assume that little girl is Melody, but we could just be jumping to conclusions." She was grasping at straws and she knew it.
The Doctor let a tear slip down his face. "Don't you remember, Rose? When you felt the girl's presence in that warehouse, you heard the wolf howl. It's a calling card. I heard that same howl when you unlocked my memories of meeting you and James when I was in my Ninth body."
"We know that she went missing, and Jack told us she'd be safe." Realization dawned on Rose. "Someone goes back to save her. It would have to be one of us that could use a Vortex manipulator and who wasn't there the first time. Jenny."
"It's our best shot." Rory dug the heels of his hands into his eyes.
"I'll go get her," the Doctor said, standing up. "She'll bring Melody back. I promise. We'll have her meet us right back here." He clamped a hand on Rory's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, about this, all of it."
"Yeah, me too." Rory collapsed into Rose's arms as the Doctor left the room. He knew that in a few minutes he would have to wake his wife and tell her. Tell her that monsters had raised their daughter for years. There was no telling what kind of problems that would cause. It was very little comfort, but at least they knew she would turn out all right in the end.
A few minutes later, Rory reluctantly pulled himself away from his mum. "I need to talk to Amy, to tell her what Jenny is about to do." Rory stifled a sob. "Let her know that our baby isn't coming home."
"But she is Rory," Rose protested.
"No, Mum," Rory said sadly. "Our daughter may be coming home, but our baby is lost forever."
Unsurprisingly, Rory found Amy in their room. However, she was lying awake reading her diary instead of asleep, like she was when he left her earlier.
"Can't sleep?" he asked, sitting down next to her.
"I just keep thinking about the first time that I met River, on my first trip out." Amy shifted so that he could wrap an arm around her. "She hid it but there was this moment when I said that I didn't know who she was…she looked devastated. It must have been so hard to realize that her own mother didn't have any clue who she was. Her life…" Amy paused before speaking again. "I just don't understand. Why does she hop around our timeline?"
"I don't know, at least not yet." Rory stroked her hair. "We'll figure it out, though."
"Yeah…" She didn't sound like she believed him. "How old were you when you met River?"
"Six. She met us at a carnival. We were friends right from the start. I always knew there was something different about her. Felt connected to her. It's just, I never expected this."
"I know," Amy said, slightly more sure of herself. "I know that you, or Mum or Dad didn't want this…"
"But you think we should have been able to stop it."
"Part of my does, yes." Amy sounded resigned. "But I can't pass around blame. I have to be strong. I can't fall apart while waiting for our baby to come home."
A lump formed in Rory's throat; now he had to break her heart. "I need to tell you something. I need you to let me finish without interrupting. Can you do that?"
This grabbed Amy's full attention and she quickly agreed.
"We know where Melody is and Dad is sending Jenny to get her. We know where she is because we've encountered her before, in 1969. Melody was the little girl in spacesuit." He paused, wiping away a tear from his eye. Honestly, he was surprised that he had any tears left to shed. "I also think that she was the person in the spacesuit at Lake Silencio."
Neither of them said anything for a while. Amy was waiting to make sure he was finished and he was waiting for her reaction. Suddenly, Amy pushed herself off the bed and started frantically pacing up and down the room. "No! No! No! OUR DAUGHTER WAS NOT THE GIRL IN THE SPACESUIT! I refuse to believe it. We must have found Melody and that evil woman kidnapped another poor, innocent little girl." Picking up a vase from the table, she threw it against the wall. "You need to get our baby back, you need to be sure."
Rory stood up and moved in front of her. Reaching out, he held her in his arms. She punched and hit him. "Amy, I'm sure that the little girl in Florida was Melody."
"How? How can you be so certain that was our daughter?" Amy demanded, still struggling to get out of his arms.
Amazingly, he kept his voice calm. "Do you remember when Mum felt that mental presence? She heard the wolf howl. The same wolf howl that she and I hear in the back of our minds. It was Melody in that warehouse because she is the only other person who would hear the wolf."
Amy shook her head in protest. "Please don't let it be true. Oh Rory, what could they have done to her? Our baby, our baby..." She collapsed into his arms and they both sunk to the floor. Both were crying tears they didn't think they had left while Rory rubbed her back and made her promises that he wasn't sure he could keep about how everything would be all right in the end.
Jack had never felt as alone in a crowded bar as he did right now. He was sitting on a stool next to an attractive man in a sailor's uniform. At any other time in his life he'd have been chatting him up right from the start. But his leaving Ianto still stung in his chest. For the first time in his life, Jack Harkness wasn't interested in sex.
The bartender slipped him a piece of paper and told him that it was from the gentleman across the room. Looking up, he saw the familiar and yet out of time face of the Doctor. Not the current Doctor, but the one with spiky brown hair, pinstriped suit and Janis Joplin coat.
Jack's throat constricted. This was the Doctor coming to say goodbye right before he regenerated into the floppy haired, green eyed, bow tie wearing one.
A broken man who would find what he was looking for, what he needed, in just a matter of weeks. Jack wanted that. He wished he could have had it with Ianto, but the thought of the other man's death was more than he could take.
The Doctor pointed at the piece of paper on the bar and then to the man sitting next to Jack. Opening it, he saw the words His name is Alonso, scribbled in the Doctor's slanted handwriting. Jack snapped a salute at the Doctor and he returned a two-fingered salute of his own. Without a single word, the Doctor turned on his heel and left.
Waving down the bartender, Jack ordered a bottle of the strongest stuff they had. When handing over the bottle, the bartender had warned that too much of that stuff could kill a man stone dead. With a mutter of 'I wish', Jack took the bottle to a secluded table, without even saying hello to Alonso. What was the point? He was here to drown his sorrow and maybe drink himself into yet another death.
Just as he was pouring himself a third drink a feminine hand stilled the bottle. "Might want to lay off that stuff, Captain. I know the last few days have been rough, but that stuff is pretty potent," a familiar voice said with a tinkling laugh.
"Don't care, sweetie," Jack grumbled, trying to steal back the bottle. "And if you don't mind I'm not in the mood for company and I'm really not looking for a shag tonight."
"Like I'd ever shag you." River smirked, put the bottle to her lips and took a huge gulp.
"Hey, watch it. That stuff could actually kill you." This time Jack pulled the bottle away.
"Nah, regenerate maybe if I didn't metabolize the stuff in time, but not kill me." She managed to pull the bottle back while Jack gaped at her and took another swig.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" he demanded.
"You know, all these times we've met, you've never once asked me my name." She was smiling but it didn't reach her eyes. Instead they looked haunted.
"I know your name, River Song."
"My name is as much River Song as yours is Jack Harkness." She steeled herself for what she was about to say next. "As to why I'm… There are a couple of reasons. First, after the 456 you need a friend and that is who I am, Jack, your friend. Secondly, I need to tell you a story and ask for your help."
Jack looked at her a little confused. Yes, after leaving Earth and Ianto behind he did need a friend. He wasn't sure if he actually considered River a friend. However, Rose trusted her completely so he did too. But something wasn't making sense. "Alright. I'll play along." He grabbed the bottle back and took a drink.
River swallowed and said in the softest voice he had ever heard from her, "My name is Melody Rose Tyler-Pond and I need your help."
Mels lay in bed, watching the rays of the early morning sun dance off the ceiling. Today was the day, the day her family found out the truth of who she was.
Today's date had been written by her mother's own hand in the file given by her granddad to Hannah. Her mum had also written a time and a location. Mels wasn't sure why they were meeting in a cornfield outside of Leadworth instead of Uncle Tony and Aunt Trisha's house in London. Still, either way, today she would be back with her family where she belonged.
Well, she would be with them, and they would know who she was. Yes, today was going to be the best day of her life so far. Swinging her legs over the end of her bed, Mels stepped into the en suite of her hotel room to get ready for the meeting. Her mind wandered to how different her life would be when her family knew the truth. Yes, they loved her as she was now, but soon she would be able to fully embrace being a Tyler.
When she was ready, she opened the door back into the bedroom only to find it filled with creatures with large bald heads wearing suits. And in the middle of the group was a severe looking woman with a metal eye patch. "Who are you?"
The woman tutted. "Dearest Melody, I see you've regenerated." The woman stepped closer. "And I'm saddened that you don't remember the ones that raised you through those early formative years. I'm really very hurt."
"I don't remember anything before my regeneration, least of all you." Mels' eyes darted her eyes around the room, looking frantically for an escape route.
"That is a pity," the woman replied coolly, and one of the creatures grabbed Mels' arm.
Mels twisted and tried to free herself. "Who are you? What do you want?" Keep them talking, that's what Pops had always taught her, but apparently this woman had a different idea.
"I'm Madame Kovarian, and what I want is you." Kovarian grinned evilly. "You didn't really think you could get away from us that easily, did you?"
Another creature brought a hand to Mels' temple, and all she could do was scream as it broke through her defenses and into her mind.